


1. The Art of Letting Go

by Asexual_Ravioli



Series: Mikasa Ackerman X Annie Leonhardt Shorts [1]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, F/F, Fluff, Fluff and Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-30
Updated: 2016-08-30
Packaged: 2018-08-11 22:23:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 643
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7909861
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Asexual_Ravioli/pseuds/Asexual_Ravioli
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Annie is a workaholic.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Art of Letting Go

“Annie,” Mikasa said. “Come on. You’re tired.”

“I am not tired,” Annie said to her computer screen.

“You’ll hurt your eyes, you know. Leaning in like that.”

“I’m fine without your weird mothering,” Annie said.

“Wear your reading glasses,” Mikasa said. “You need them.” She found them on Annie’s nighstand, on one of the trashy paperbacks Annie was so found of indulging in. The thick black frames looked stylish on Annie. She almost never wore them, but Mikasa encouraged her to (she really loved how Annie looked in them).  “Here,” she said, and Annie snatched them from Mikasa’s hand, not bothering to take her eyes off of the computer.

Annie would get like this at least once a week, but lately she’d been like this daily. Mikasa got home late from work today, saw several coffee mugs in the sink, and knew that Annie was working still.

“Have you eaten dinner?” Mikasa asked.

“It’s eleven o’clock,” Annie said flatly.

“Did you eat at five o’clock?”

Annie didn’t answer.

Mikasa had already gotten more out of Annie than she expected. Often times Annie completely ignored her girlfriend, sucked into whatever spreadsheet was spewing figures on her screen. Mikasa was quickly becoming proficient in the art of helping Annie let go. It had been hard, and certainly unexpected, when Annie’s father had passed away just a few months ago, and her diving into her work, drowning in it, was the result.

“Annie. This has to stop.”

“I’ll get off at midnight. I’ll move to the living room so you can sleep.”

Mikasa shook her head. “I’m not sleeping until you sleep.”

“Fine,” Annie said and slammed the laptop shut.

They changed into sleep clothes in silence. Annie brushed out her hair, letting it out of the messy bun she kept it in. Mikasa brushed her teeth. They both stared into the bathroom mirror as they finished their before bed tasks.

Soon they were laying down, Mikasa spooning Annie.

“It’s too hot for this,” Annie said and pulled away.

 

Mikasa woke up a little after four with an empty view of the mattress before her. She got up, planning to kick Annie’s ass for this. She found Annie in the living room, bathed not in the light of her laptop, but in the light of the TV.

“What are we watching?” she asked her.

“Enter the Dragon,” Annie said with a sigh.

Mikasa sat next to her.

“And why are we watching Enter the Dragon at four in the morning?”

“We used to watch it all the time.”

“What are you—”

“My dad and me,” Annie said staring at the men fighting and screaming on the screen. “We watched all this martial arts shit. My dad taught me as many moves as he could. I did karate, tae kwon do, boxing, some wrestling. He called me… he called me his little karate kid.” Annie wiped at her eyes, and Mikasa put a protective arm around her.

“I love a woman who can kick my ass,” Mikasa said and successfully got a laugh out of Annie. “I know you miss him,” she said softly. A single tear rolled down Annie’s cheek.

“It’s not fair,” she said, her voice a whisper. “It’s not fair.”

“I know,” Mikasa said. “When I lost my parents…” Annie looked up in surprise. Mikasa had made it a rule to never talk about it but… “When I lost them, I was pretty young. I was so lost. I became obsessive over protecting the loved ones I had left. That’s how I dealt with it. Grief can be extreme. That’s why we grieve a little at a time. Not all at once. Does that help? I don’t know If that helps.”

“That helps,” Annie said. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Are we finishing this thing?” Mikasa gestured at the TV.

“Yeah. It just started.”

“Good.”

**Author's Note:**

> Tumblr is erurink.tumblr.com
> 
> Writing only tumblr is erurink-is-writing.tumblr.com
> 
> Come 'n' visit!


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